1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dual plenum air-power conveyor system wherein the cans or articles are moved along the conveyor system through the use of air-powered jets, and more particularly, to an air powered conveyor system wherein the entire air delivery system is of the "hard-pipe" variety and is integrally associated with the dual plenum system, thereby structurally enhancing the entire conveyor system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Historically, most conveyor systems have relied on belts or chains to move the articles along their way in a conventional conveyor system.
However, belts and chains are subject to breaking or stretching, and/or jamming of the articles being conveyed is commonplace. In recent years, air power systems have been developed whereby air pressure is utilized to move the articles along the conveyor system from one station to another. For example, mass movement of a plurality of containers along a conveyor system may be improved by utilizing pressurized air for raising the containers above the surface of the table to minimize friction. However, the pressurized air is typically delivered to these conveyor systems by a flex hose system connected to an external blower. The flex hose systems of the prior art present many maintenance problems, such as the hoses splitting or breaking due to harmonic vibrations and fatigue, causing a leakage of air in the conveyor system, which necessitates a shutdown of the entire system, resulting in an expensive delay in terms of lost production. Furthermore, as the articles move along the conveyor system, a point is reached wherein the article is required to be changed from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation or vice versa. The use of a gravity spiral has been attempted; however, it cannot maintain the speed of the remainder of the system and as a result, frequent jamming occurs. As one would expect, the jamming of a conveyor system requires that the entire line be shut down until the jam is cleared. This can be an expensive delay in terms of lost production in manhours required to clear the jam. Additionally, the frequency of the jam compounds the problem and likewise increases the overall cost.